Unlawful Sale to Minor
Adults can’t party with minors. (That’s not really a revelation is it?) What’s interesting is that in spite of this common sense rule there are a lot of adults who drink with minors. This can range from college students who are 21 years old or older partying with college kids who are younger than 21, to parents supplying their own kids and kids’ friends with beer and other alcoholic beverages on the grounds that “they’re going to do it anyway so they might as well do it under our supervision.” Whatever the reason for drinking with minors it is a situation which can get you in to a lot of trouble.
Knowingly giving, offering to sell, or selling alcohol to a minor is a class A misdemeanor.
Mixing Alcohol and Minors Can Lead to More Serious Offenses
One of the big problems with furnishing alcohol to a minor is that it can lead to offenses that can land you in prison, specifically unlawful sexual activity with a minor and other sex crimes. In those cases the district attorney can bring multiple charges for furnishing the alcohol to as many minors as were involved and in addition can bring felony sex crime charges which all of the sudden makes a night of fun drinking turn into a potential for prison time.
What’s worse is that we have seen many cases where minors, to protect their own interests (e.g., to stay out of trouble with their parents), have brought false allegations against an adult and the adult then has to hire the attorney and undergo the expense and time to defend himself against claims that should never have been brought in the first place.
Give our criminal defense lawyers a call at 801.413.1753 if you are dealing with charges for for furnishing alcohol to a minor. We deal with these cases all the time and would love to help you.
